10457 Best Sights in USA

Located directly south of Pioneer Square, Lumen Field hosts two professional teams, the Seattle Seahawks (football) and the Seattle Sounders FC (soccer). The open-air stadium has 67,000 seats; sightlines are excellent thanks to a cantilevered design and the close placement of lower sections. Tours start at the pro shop (be sure to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to purchase tickets) and last an hour and a half. You'll get a personal look at behind-the-scenes areas as well as the famous 12th Man Flag Pole, and have a chance to sink your feet into the same playing surface as your favorite Seahawks and Sounders stars.

Charles Fletcher Lummis was an American journalist and civil rights activist who advocated for indigenous people’s rights and historic preservation. After dropping out of Harvard, he set out to walk from Ohio to Los Angeles, where he ultimately resettled after spending several decades throughout California and the Southwest as a journalist. The Lummis House, or El Alisal, was hand-built by Lummis over the course of 14 years. Visitors come in awe of the exterior of the house, which is built of river rock, concrete flooring, and shelving that was set into the walls so that the entirety of the house could be cleaned with a garden hose. Today El Alisal is a state historical monument owned by the Los Angeles City Parks and Recreation Department.

Renowned horticulturist Luther Burbank lived and worked on these grounds and made significant advances using modern selection and hybridization techniques. The 1.6-acre garden and greenhouse showcase the results of some of Burbank's experiments to develop spineless cacti and such flowers as the Shasta daisy. Use your cell phone on a free self-guided garden tour, or from April through October take a docent-led tour (required to see the house).

Welcome to the land of the Egyptians—Vegas-style. This modern-world wonder is topped with a xenon light beam that burns brighter than any other in the world and can be seen from nearly anywhere in the Valley at night; it's supposedly visible even from space. The exterior is made with 13 acres of black glass, and you won't easily forget elevators; climbing the slanted walls of the Luxor pyramid requires four \"inclinators\" to reach guest rooms. Above the casino is the world's largest atrium—you get the full impact of the space from the second floor, where the 13 whole-body specimens and 260 organs and partial body specimens of Bodies ... The Exhibition offers a look at what makes us tick. Or take in Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, or Discovering King Tut's Tomb; if you're 21 and older, you can play around on the physical, memory, and puzzle games in the Play Playground bar. And you may be interested in the new e-sports arena HyperX (the only one currently in Las Vegas), which replaced the hotel's dance club and offers gaming opportunities when it's not in use for scheduled competitions. This also is the site of one of the city's remaining buffets. For something entirely unique, head outside the casino, walk past the porte cochere, and follow the sidewalk inside a replica of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Only in Vegas.

The 1737 restored Dutch farmhouse is especially noted for its collection of Hudson Valley paintings. The grounds include the Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse, a one-room schoolhouse that was actually used until the 1940s. It takes its name from the character in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving. Irving, who tutored at Lindenwald, purportedly modeled the character after a schoolmaster who taught in the area.

Built in 1839 and one of Alexandria's best examples of Greek Revival design, the Lyceum is also a local history museum. Restored in the 1970s for the Bicentennial, it has an impressive collection, including examples of 18th- and 19th-century silver, tools, stoneware, and Civil War photographs taken by Alexander Gardner and Andrew Russell. Over the years the building has served as the Alexandria Library, a Civil War hospital, a residence, and offices.

Hawaii is the only state in the country where Theobroma cacao grows—the tree whose seeds become chocolate—and the Lydgates are on a mission to grow enough cacao on their multigenerational family farm that one day they will produce an identifiable Kauai homegrown chocolate. For now, you can tour this 46-acre farm (in addition to cacao, they grow vanilla, timber trees, bamboo, and many tropical fruits) and learn how chocolate is made, "from branch to bar," as they put it. The three-hour tour includes, of course, plenty of chocolate tastings. Reservations are required for the morning tour, which runs weekdays at 9 am.

This is by far the best family beach park on Kauai: the waters off the beach are protected by a hand-built breakwater, creating two boulder-enclosed saltwater ponds for safe swimming and snorkeling most of the year. Heavy rains upriver do occasionally deposit driftwood and clog the ponds, and strong trade winds can cause waves to wash over. The smaller of the two ponds is perfect for keiki. Behind the beach is Kamalani Playground; children of all ages—that includes you—enjoy the swings, lava-tube slides, tree house, and open field. Picnic tables abound in the park, and pavilions for day use and overnight camping are available by permit. The Kamalani Kai Bridge is a second playground, south of the original. (The two are united by the Ke Ala Hele Makalae bike and pedestrian coastal path.) This park system is perennially popular; the quietest times to visit are early mornings and weekdays. Amenities: lifeguards; pavilions; camping; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: partiers; sunrise; swimming; walking.

These 125-foot-tall tiered falls thunder in springtime, as water from melting snow rushes down—though it's beautiful even at a trickle in the late summer. A moderately strenuous, 4.6-mile hike starts off Glen Road and follows old logging roads and wooded trails to the falls; it takes four hours.

Housed in a neoclassical granite building that overlooks the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Long Island Sound, this museum was founded in 1932 with funds bequeathed by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her whaling merchant father, Captain Lyman Allyn (1797–1874). Inside is an impressive collection of more than 15,000 objects covering a span of 5,000 years. Works also include contemporary, modern, and Early American fine arts; American Impressionist paintings; Connecticut decorative arts; and European works from the 16th through 19th centuries. The 12 acres of surrounding grounds includes a sculpture trail.

Learn about the town's manufacturing heritage, including bikes and memorabilia from the former Indian Motorcycle Company, which was headquartered in Springfield. The Firearms Collection includes more than 1,600 firearms, with the largest collection of Smith & Wesson guns in the world. Board game lovers will enjoy the Hasbro GameLand exhibit, which honors Milton Bradley, who after moving to Springfield in 1856, created "The Checkered Game of Life."

Set in a late-Victorian farm equipment and blacksmith shop, this downtown museum does a remarkable job relating the Dutch-influenced agricultural heritage of this colorful town on the U.S.–Canadian border. It includes the largest collection of horse-drawn vehicles in the region, a re-created main street of old-time shops, and a rich selection of local artifacts from the past 150 years.

Noted architect Alexander Jackson Davis designed this magnificent marble mansion overlooking the Hudson River. Built in 1838, Lyndhurst is widely considered the premier Gothic Revival home in the United States. You may tour the mansion's elaborate interior and stroll the 67 landscaped acres, which include a conservatory and a rose garden. The estate also includes a turn-of-the-20th-century bowling alley and an original child's playhouse. Kids can walk outside the perimeter of the playhouse and admire it, but are not allowed to enter it. During summer weekends, visitors can pay $5 to roam around the grounds, and then apply that fee to the guided tour price if they wish to learn more about the house.

It's easy to feel confused, but the LBJ State Park & Historic Site and the LBJ National Historical Park, both of which honor President Lyndon Baines Johnson, are technically separate entities that operate in conjunction with each other. Here you'll find the World War I–era Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm, historic cabins and trails, and the adjacent LBJ Ranch, which includes the family cemetery, where the 36th president is buried, and the Texas White House, the home where LBJ and his wife, Lady Bird, lived before and after his presidency and often returned to during his time as the nation's leader. A self-guided tour of the ranch begins at the visitor center, and afterward you can hike the many park trails, fish the Pedernales River, picnic, and even take a dip in the pool during the summer.

Tucked all the way back in Manoa Valley, this is a gem of an arboretum operated by the University of Hawaii. Reservations are required to visit its almost 200 acres, where you can hike to a waterfall or sit and enjoy beautiful views of the valley while having a picnic. You'll also see an ethnobotanical garden, a Hawaiian hale (house) and garden, and one of the largest palm collections anywhere—all within a parklike setting. The arboretum's educational mission means there are often regular talks and walks, plus classes on lei-making, lauhala weaving, Hawaiian medicinal arts, and more, which you can take for an additional fee.

Get ready for a workout—and a spectacularly rewarding view at the top—when tackling the 332 steps at the eastern edge of the Presidio. There will likely be no shortage of exercise seekers bounding up the steps, but feel free to conquer the climb slowly. The trimmed hedge landscaping is worthy of its own visit, but the views of the Presidio forests and the bay are the reason these steps are a top attraction. The opulent mansions surrounding them are equally stunning.

You wouldn't expect such a pinball extravaganza in tiny Lyons, but there it is, behind the Oskar Blues brewpub, with more than 50 classic pinball games. The change machines (and fellow gamers) make it a simple and fun evening stop.

You won't see redwoods on this open, upper-elevation, 3.7-mile round-trip trail, but on summer days when the coast is socked in with rain or fog, an outing to this typically sunny prairie at Redwood National Park's southeastern boundary is highly rewarding, as is the steep—but slow—17-mile drive on Bald Hills Road. The trail leads to a former sheep and cattle ranch with a few interesting old outbuildings that date from the turn of the 20th century. Moderate.

Mill Valley locals congregate on weekends to socialize in the coffeehouses and cafés near the town's central square, but it's buzzing most of any day of the week with the lunchtime crowd, tourists, and Marin residents running errands. The Mill Valley Depot Café & Bookstore at the hub of it all is the place to grab a coffee and sweet treat while reading or playing a game of chess. Shops, restaurants, and cultural venues line the nearby streets.

The NFL Baltimore Ravens team hosts home games in this state-of-the-art stadium from August to January.

A little strip of condominiums within the isthmus that links Central and West Maui, Maalaea is often overlooked, but it shouldn't be. This company has more than 100 one- and two-bedroom units at $100–$300 per night. The wind is usually strong here, but there's a nice beach, a harbor, and some good shopping and decent restaurants.

With so many good reasons to head out onto the water, this active little harbor is quite busy. Many snorkeling and whale-watching excursions depart from here. After the fires in Lahaina destroyed the island's most popular harbor, many boating excursions have moved to Maalaea, including the Expeditions Maui ferry to Lanai.

There was a plan to expand the facility, but surfers argued that would have destroyed the world-renowned surf breaks. The elusive spot to the left of the harbor, called "freight train," rarely breaks, but when it does, it's said to be the fastest wave anywhere. Shops, restaurants, and the Maui Ocean Center aquarium front the harbor, and offerings continue to increase, making this a nice place to spend the afternoon.

Mabry Mill, north of Meadows of Dan and the Blue Ridge Parkway's junction with U.S. 58 at milepost 176, 55 miles south of Roanoke, is one of the parkway's most popular stops for photographers. There is also a restaurant and gift shop on site.

The family-owned winery is committed to organic and sustainable vineyard practices, and wines like its 2010 Bergen Road red and 2012 Reserve Chardonnay enjoy consistent critical acclaim. The tasting room is big and modern; vineyards nestle below the Long Island Sound bluffs. Best sellers here are 2012 Katherine Fields Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 Dos Aguas, and the Sette blend. Cheese boards and charcuterie are available for wine pairings. Off-season, barrel tastings and pairings of food prepared by a local chef are offered one Saturday a month for $50.

The MacArthur Memorial is the burial place of one of America’s most distinguished military officers. General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) agreed to this navy town as the site for his memorial, museum, and research center because it was his mother’s birthplace. In the rotunda of the old City Hall, converted according to MacArthur’s design, is the mausoleum; 9 adjoining galleries house artifacts of MacArthur’s career, including his signature corncob pipe and a few of the pens used to sign the Japanese Instrument of Surrender that concluded World War II. However, this is a monument not only to General MacArthur but to all those who served in wars from the Civil to the Korean War. Its archives and library hold some 2 million documents and more than 100,000 photographs and assist scholars, students, and researchers from around the world. The visitor center contains a rotating special exhibit gallery, a theater, and a gift shop. MacArthur’s last staff car is on display in this building.

Early-season trout fishing (license required) is superb at 2,300-acre Macedonia Brook State Park, where you can also hike and cross-country ski. The Blue Trail crosses several peaks, and you can see as far as the Catskills and Taconics in neighboring New York State. The expansive mountain views are amazing year-round; the leaves are magnificent in the fall.

This working ranch, homesteaded in 1873, is on the National Register of Historic Places and provides a well-preserved record of typical ranch life. Take a guided tour of the 1896 ranch house, then explore the outbuildings and machinery on your own as you take in views of the Twin Owls and Longs Peak.